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A1 with Original Pre E1 D80370

Started by Doug Rose, November 08, 2013, 08:15:47 PM

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Doug Rose

Anyone watch this?


Not an E1 ...D80370 Pre E1


What a find!!   Went cheap!!!...Doug

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281199666287
Kidphone

Contempra

no but 35 bidders later, .................end of the auction  Doug.. ;)

wds

Maybe Santa will put one of those under my Chirstmas tree.
Dave

Doug Rose

Dave...I have never seen the D80370 handset before, I had heard the legend. Wonderful phone.....Doug
Kidphone

Sargeguy

For a phone of which there are supposedly only 25 known examples it certainly shows up on eBay pretty regularly.   ???
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

Doug Rose

#5
Not sure where the " supposedly only 25 known examples" is from as this was WE first handset desk phone. Candlestick base with a chopped of stem and an A1 mount. It was a production phone and not a trial base phone. Legend is it was made between 1924 and 1925. I would hazard a guess of well over 25 were made. I am old, but not around back then. The earliest B1 I have is from 1929, anyone have an earlier date? Earliest D1 I have is 3/30.

Just a guess of manufacturing dates? May Paul F can chime in on dates.

A1 1924-1925
B1 19Xx-1930
D1 1930-1937


The rarity of this auction is the handset. Not an E1 yet, a D80370. I have never seen one. This is really a "rare"  Handset....Doug
Kidphone

poplar1

Doug, here are my guesses/observations for dates:

1924 is the year G. K. Thompson received a patent for the hand set mounting which appears to be the one produced as the D-76869. The D-80370 handset is not shown in this patent.

Manufacture dates:
D-76869 (A1 hand set mounting) 1927?
B1 1928-1932 (latest I have is III 32--also has a 2HB dial dated III 32)
D1 1930-1939 (latest I have is 1939)

WE apparently did not stamp the date of manufacture of B1 or desk stand (candlestick) bases until 1929. However, you can spot a 1928 B1 because of the holes for the cord ties. These were replaced with posts for the S-hooks by the time (1929) that WE started stamping the date on the inside of the base.

Transmitters, on the other hand, were date-stamped earlier. I'm looking at a 337 transmitter dated "MAR 1927."

I robbed the following pictures from Ebay showing the different B1s--one should look familiar:

"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

rdelius

I think I posted a photo of one of these handles I repaired that was damaged.

Doug Rose

David.....I think your guesses make more sense than mine. It would expalin why if an A1 was made in 1925 (my guess), what happend until the B1 was made. Great insight as usual...always a pleasure....Doug
Kidphone

tallguy58

#9
Well I've seen 3 of these in the past couple of months. Two on this board; this one, Auction contest 98 and there's this one on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221308629216

Hardly extremely rare.
Cheers........Bill

Doug Rose

Hard to find but not rare, agreed. But when is the last time you saw the correct handset on it? Mine has an E1. This handset is special....Doug
Kidphone

TelePlay

What is somewhat confusing in following this topis is that the current eBay for an A1 just above has a "D76869" stamped on the back of the shaft and an E1 handset. The phone that started this topic has a pre-E1 "D80370" number on the handset and the seller did not show what, if anything, was stamped on the back of the shaft. Just saying in case anyone besides me got confused.

Doug Rose

#12
Tom...an A1 is the mount, it never was stamped on the back like a B1 or a D1. All A1s had "D76869" stamped on the stem.

It can be confusing as for years collectors called an A1 an AA1 which is a totally different phone. AA1 is a  302  phone that replaced candlesticks and used the subset/magneto for everything. Basically empty inside....Doug
Kidphone

paul-f

I'm confused too...   ::)
Visit: paul-f.com         WE  500  Design_Line

.

Doug Rose

#14
Hey Paul....Wow! Never saw that before. AB 1 underneath. Is it a B or something crossed out.....This is getting good....Doug
Kidphone